I was asked when I interviewed for the position of Chief Program Officer at CASA why I wanted to leave the domestic violence movement. I spent years as an advocate for survivors of sexual and domestic violence and made no secret of the fact that I loved my job, so the interviewer was curious as to why I would leave that work.

One seemingly small act of grace can be astronomical for a child who’s been abused or neglected. For Sofia, that small act of grace kept her from living in a situation where she was abused and disrespected.

Sofia is a survivor of sex trafficking. After coming into care as a teenager, Sofia had a habit of running away and being kicked out of her relatives’ homes, some of whom repeatedly shamed Sofia for her sexuality and her past traumatic trafficking experiences.

It was clear Sofia desperately needed a safe, dedicated and consistent place to call home. Read More

Growing up in a small town in Bulgaria, Radina Boneva imagined a future working in diplomatic foreign affairs.

After moving to Madrid for university, where she studied Political Science and Public Administration, she instead took a job working in immigration services for Madrid. Her work there involved helping recent immigrants access the assistance they needed to settle in their new home. “It wasn’t what I was thinking about when I started studying at 19, but I loved my work,” she says. “Working with people from all over the world was really enriching.”

Four years ago, Radina and her husband moved to the United States, living first in New York before moving to Austin. Read More

Every child deserves a sense of stability in a tumultuous environment. A child who has experienced trauma can express behaviors that may seem perplexing. Many children who have experienced trauma have come to depend on unconventional coping mechanisms from their pasts in order to get their most basic needs met. Even when a child is in a safe environment where they can have all of their basic needs easily met, these previously successful coping mechanisms can still manifest in a multitude of scenarios.For many of the children we serve, the comfort of being able to visualize their weekly schedules instills a sense of assurance and lowers anxiety. By giving a child an interactive weekly or monthly calendar, they are able to feel more aware of and in control of their lives.

Today we're sharing a simple video tutorial on how to make an interactive calendar for kids! Read More

In traditional superhero comics, there are themes that recur, ideas or events we can count on in nearly every story. The world or city will be threatened by a larger-than-life villain. An innocent person will be in distress. A seemingly ordinary person will turn out to be a hero of incredible strength and honor. The battle will be close but, in the end, our hero will triumph. Following the struggle, our hero will impart some words of heroic wisdom and disappear into the obscurity of his mild-mannered alter ego.

In the same way, certain traditions have arisen through the 8 years of the CASA Superhero Run. Every year, thousands of people come out to run and meet their favorite heroes. Read More